The Mega Show, Andy Warhol ran recently at the @AGOtoronto. After succeeding as a successful commercial illustrator, Warhol exhibited his work in several galleries in the 1950s,and was criticized as selling out by some but was seen by others as an influential and controversial pop artist, film director and producer. He took advantage and promoted his celebrity status to promote his art which evolved around the relationship between celebrity culture, artistic expression and marketing and advertising of products. His most famous pieces are the Campbell’s Soup Cans 1962 and Marilyn Monroe.
After a long pandemic closure due to covid-19, it was exciting to go out and see a “blockbuster show” such as Andy Warhol in the AGO in person; and understandably, the Gallery wants to see visitors get back to visiting the gallery paying the entry fees and helping the Gallery cover its budget. Andy Warhol , when he first came out was widely criticized. Andy Warhol once said, “what’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest” Although he seemed to be satirizing our consumerism, he was also befitting from it and started the trend where we are today. One wonders whether or not the blockbuster shows that rely upon advertising techniques merely support the Neo-liberal arts economy at the expense of other artists as Julian Stallabrass argues in Contemporary art a very short introduction.
© 2020 Article, and layout TorontoArtsandEvents; Andy Warhol pieces – Andy Warhol estate.
